Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1609 - 827: Trapping the Prey in a Jar (Part 2)

Her gaze turned toward the direction of the Thousand Souls Hall Main Hall, eyes cold.

"As for Xiao Beixuan, he’s just a chess piece carefully nurtured by him, a pathetic fool who believes he can control fate, but whose outcome was long destined.

He thinks he’s the future master of the Soulless Shell? Ha, he has no idea that the moment the array activates, his soul will be thoroughly crushed, becoming nourishment for that shell, ultimately serving as a stepping stone for breaking the seal of the Nether River!"

She withdrew her gaze, refocusing on Gu Sheng, with an inquisitive look.

"What intrigues me more is you. Bai Zhi was the bait I deliberately set free, intending to lure out other Dark Agents of the Nether River, yet I didn’t expect to draw you in. Not only did you unravel part of my setup, but you also managed to take her away — how did you do it?

The Evil Spirit Binding Lock planted in her Divine Soul by that old lunatic requires tricky maneuvering to suppress temporarily without alerting him, even for me."

Gu Sheng’s thoughts rapidly spun; Jin’er’s words contained too much information, hard to distinguish truth from falsehood. But for now, he chose to remain unperturbed and replied coldly, "That’s none of your business."

Jin’er didn’t press further, seeming to have mentioned it casually.

Her wrist flipped, revealing an antique-looking black Jade Talisman in her palm. The surface of the Jade Talisman emanated a faint glow.

"This is Xiao Beixuan’s Communication Jade Talisman."

With a slight tap of her fingertip on the Jade Talisman, a voice filled with evident anxiety and anger immediately emerged — it was precisely Xiao Beixuan:

"Jin’er! Where are you?! Something happened at the Sacrificial Plaza! Thousands of Corpse Puppets... all destroyed! Their Life Force forcibly extracted! Damn it! Who the hell did this?! Investigate immediately! And that useless backup array eye has gone missing!

He might have escaped amidst the chaos! Find him for me! Alive, I want to see the person; dead, I want to see the corpse! Hurry!"

The voice abruptly stopped.

Jin’er held the Jade Talisman, revealing undeniable shock on her stunning face for the first time!

She suddenly looked up at Gu Sheng, eyes sharp as knives.

"Thousands of Corpse Puppets... their Life Force forcibly extracted... was it you?!"

Gu Sheng remained expressionless, neither admitting nor denying.

But from his gaze and the vine aura sensed before, Jin’er had already confirmed it beyond doubt!

"Good! Very well!"

The shock in Jin’er’s eyes rapidly faded, replaced by an indescribable excitement and... appreciation?

"Gu Sheng, you’re more interesting than I imagined! Destroy the sacrificial offerings, burn the bridges, sever the greatest reliance for breaking the Nether River’s seal! Well done!"

She suddenly raised her right hand towards the direction of the cave, snapped her fingers lightly.

Snap!

The crisp sound of snapping fingers echoed through the silent barren mountain.

At the same time, inside the cave, more than a dozen Martial Artists who were frantically attacking Zhao Boyang and Old Xiong suddenly seemed to have all their strength drained, their movements stiffened, the bloodlust in their eyes rapidly faded, and then they collapsed softly, completely losing vitality.

The intense fighting sounds within the cave abruptly ceased.

Zhao Boyang and Old Xiong, covered in blood and panting heavily, gazed at the instantly dead enemies with faces full of suspicion and uncertainty, unable to understand what had happened.

Outside the barren mountain, Jin’er retracted her hand, as if she had merely done something trivial.

She looked at Gu Sheng, her gaze becoming serious.

"Gu Sheng, the enemy’s enemy is a friend. The Nether River is our common enemy.

As long as he lives, the East Desolation will never see peace for a day. Would you... be willing to ally with me?"

Gu Sheng’s gaze was sharp, not relaxing his guard due to Jin’er’s proposal.

He spoke in a deep voice, "Alliance? What makes you think I would trust you? Just because you’re the daughter of the Nether River, and want to kill him?"

"Because I’ve been lurking for years, holding core secrets and weaknesses of his plans."

Jin’er spoke with firm assurance.

"Because I just helped you resolve the trouble in the cave. Also because... you’ve destroyed the sacrificial offerings, standing completely against him with no room for conciliatory moves. Our cooperation is the only chance to end that madman for good."

Gu Sheng was silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons quickly in his mind.

Jin’er’s identity was mysterious, her power unfathomable, her motives unclear; cooperating with her seemed as perilous as negotiating with a tiger.

Yet, at the moment, Venerable Ming River and Xiao Beixuan posed the greatest threat. With the sacrificial offerings destroyed, they were bound to counterattack furiously; relying on himself alone, he indeed couldn’t withstand it.

Jin’er’s intelligence and strength were key to breaking out of this situation.

"Cooperation is possible."

Gu Sheng finally spoke, his voice cold and resolute.

"But only within this Secret Realm. Outside, we shall go our separate ways. Moreover..."

His gaze was like lightning, directly meeting Jin’er’s eyes.

"You’ll need to provide a pledge."

"A pledge?"

Jin’er raised her brows slightly, seemingly intrigued.

"What do you want?"

"The head of Xiao Beixuan."

Gu Sheng stated each word clearly.

"He is the key executor of the Nether River’s plan, the main culprit of this sacrificial plot. Killing him will severely cripple the Nether River and prove your sincerity."

Upon hearing this, Jin’er not only didn’t get angry but smiled broadly, a smile as breathtaking as the thawing of ice and snow, yet containing a chilling intent to kill.

"Alright! I’ll accept this pledge. Xiao Beixuan... I will claim his head for sure."

Her agreement was so swift that it instead raised Gu Sheng’s vigilance, though he did not show it outwardly, merely nodding slightly.

"If you manage to do that, we’ll consider our cooperative relationship initially established."

Just then, Gu Sheng suddenly felt something, turning his gaze sharply towards the direction of the Secret Realm’s exit, and spoke solemnly.

"With the sacrificial offerings destroyed and Xiao Beixuan enraged, he will likely seal all the exits of the Secret Realm, intending to trap us like turtles in a jar!"

Seemingly to confirm his words, as soon as he finished speaking, numerous colored tunneling lights abruptly lit up at the distant end of the sky, near the Secret Realm’s exit!

Like a startled swarm of bees, they frantically surged towards the exit!

Clearly, those Martial Artists who had not yet been caught or had luckily escaped realized the drastic changes in the core area and the rising bloody aura, sensed impending doom, and were desperately trying to flee this deadly place!

Almost simultaneously with the illumination of those tunneling lights, the direction of the Secret Realm’s exit suddenly erupted with several extremely powerful energy light beams!

The beams shot skyward, interweaving into a large energy light net marked with runes, instantly enveloping and sealing the entire exit area!

Rumble!

The muffled energy rumble could be faintly heard even from the distant distance.

Those tunneling lights rushing towards the exit seemed to hit an invisible wall, were thrown back flying one after the other, their light dimmed, with some directly exploding apart, accompanied by faint screams!

The exit... was indeed sealed!

Jin’er also saw this scene, her gaze turning slightly cold.

"The reaction is swift enough."

Gu Sheng retracted his gaze, looked at Jin’er, his tone heavy.

"Now, we’re both trapped in this jar.

Miss Jin’er, what is your subsequent plan? How will you obtain Xiao Beixuan’s head?"

Jin’er met Gu Sheng’s gaze, her red lips slightly parted, her voice carrying the composure of controlling the entire situation.

"Plan? It’s quite simple. The person he most wants to kill now is you, and the person he most wants to find is that escaped backup array eye. And all we need to do... is let him find ’us’."

She intentionally emphasized the word "us," a mischievous light shining in her eyes.

The dead silence in the barren mountain was broken by the energy rumble coming from the distant exit, the skyward light net like a cold cage, announcing the complete closure of the Secret Realm.

Gu Sheng and Jin’er exchanged a glance, neither of them showing much surprise, only cold determination.

"Turtles in a jar... now, who is the turtle, remains to be seen."

Jin’er’s lips curved into a cold arc, then she looked at Gu Sheng, her gaze becoming sharp.

"However, to kill Xiao Beixuan, relying on just the two of us isn’t enough. He has at least three Human King Realm experts guarding him, all selected meticulously by the Nether River old ghost, formidable in power.

I need to know your trump card, or rather... how many can you handle?"

She paused, adding.

"I can hold off those three King Realm experts, preventing them from interfering. But Xiao Beixuan himself is at the peak of the Human King Realm, and he possesses secret treasures bestowed by the Nether River old ghost, making his combat power far beyond ordinary Human Kings.

You must be able to hold him off, at the very least... don’t let him easily escape to command others."

Upon hearing this, Gu Sheng’s expression remained unchanged, he simply spoke lightly.